Qantas Super had the opportunity to welcome a number of new faces this year, with four new additions joining our team on secondment from the wider Qantas Group.
Each of them has brought a unique set of skills and new perspectives to our team, helping us in our work to serve our members.
)
Cveta Siljanovska joined Qantas in mid-2019, working in the Treasury team’s dealing room as a foreign exchange dealer.
Having joined the airline from Westpac, Cveta said one of her favourite parts of the job was rising to the challenge of adapting and expanding her skillset to succeed in her new role. She also enjoyed working with her tight-knit team, and mentoring the finance graduates who rotated through Treasury.
When she was stood down from the Treasury team in March, Cveta was encouraged by her manager, Cecilia Ho, herself a Director of Qantas Super, to apply for one of the roles open with our team.
Joining our risk and compliance team as a risk analyst, Cveta said she has been busy getting up to speed on everything super and getting to know a new team virtually.
“It’s a very friendly, welcoming team and everyone is really positive and upbeat,” she said.
“Even in these challenging times, when we’ve been dealing with a higher volume of complex member inquiries, everyone has maintained a really positive attitude.”
)
Jack Penton first joined Qantas as a finance graduate, getting a feel for the company’s finance operations through four six-month rotations. He then took on the role of performance analyst in the airline’s central finance team earlier this year.
“That involved looking at the domestic and international airlines and rates from both a financial and strategic perspective,” he explained. “It was an interesting way to blend the things I learned about the airline in the grad program with the more technical skills in accounting and finance.”
When the pandemic hit and he was stood down, Jack applied for a role with our Investment Operations team.
“It’s been really interesting to learn more about super,” he said. “For example, I didn’t know much about the defined benefit component of the fund, and how we make sure we have the assets to underwrite those defined benefits.”
With Qantas Super working from home from late March, Jack said ‘virtual coffee catchups’ conducted via Microsoft Teams a few times every week helped him get to know everyone.
“I think it speaks to the culture of Qantas Super that everyone was keen to get together at the start of the day. I don’t think you would see that everywhere.”
)
Geoff Tanner started his Qantas journey 10 years ago. His first role saw him work for the Qantas Loyalty-owned business Accumulate in Melbourne, before moving to Sydney to work with Loyalty.
Seconded to Qantas Super earlier this year to help our team implement an information security project, Geoff said one of the biggest surprises was learning just how compliance-focused Qantas Super – and the wider super industry – is.
“In a way, from a non-airline or operations perspective, Qantas Super has one of the most specific sets of compliance obligations in the Qantas Group,” he said.
He was also surprised to learn just how small the team is: rather than hundreds, the Qantas Super team is comprised of just 30-odd staff, supported by outsourced service providers.
“I’ve been really impressed by the amount of skill, knowledge, and enthusiasm that the Qantas Super team brings to their work, along with the breadth or range of work that they do,” he said.
“Given Qantas Super operates in an industry with much larger funds, this team really punches above its weight.”
Now more than eight months into his secondment, Geoff said his time working with the team has led him to take a closer look at his super.
“I’ve definitely gone to my account to check that my investment strategy matches what my needs are at the moment!”
)
Larissa Deylen joined Qantas Super in April to help us with the implementation of an information security project.
With over 20 years of experience in the information security industry, she was the perfect person for the job: after starting her career in Brazil, Larissa worked for the likes of Accenture and the Reserve Bank of Australia before joining Qantas as an Enterprise Security Architect in 2017. She then moved to the position of Business Information Security Officer in 2018.
With her role giving her the opportunity to work with business units across the Qantas Group, Larissa said she enjoyed getting to know staff working in vastly different areas.
“One day I could be talking to teams in baggage handling, another day in engineering, and then another in sales or customer care,” she said. “It was very dynamic, and I was always impressed by how skilled, professional, and friendly everyone was.”
The same goes for the Qantas Super team, where Larissa said she felt welcome from day one.
“Everyone has always been really helpful and very supportive, making my job really easy.”
Qantas Super has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions across our investment portfolio by 2050. This is the latest step on our ongoing journey to ensure we continue to deliver sustainable investment outcomes that meet the retirement needs of our members.
To protect your super from being eroded by fees, the minimum balance you need to keep your Gateway account open has increased.
Qantas Super’s new Group A Director Rick Garner has balanced one career in financial services and another as a pilot for 20 years.
If you want to learn more or need help with making a decision about your super, you can get simple advice over the phone. It’s included as a part of your membership so there’s no extra cost.
